


The Heart an Ahamkara shares

by Teczesgirl



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Complicated Pasts, F/F, Flashbacks, Jovians, M/M, Slow Burn, Some Swearing, True Love, ahamkara connection, more tags to add later, reef - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-03-30 23:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13961985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teczesgirl/pseuds/Teczesgirl
Summary: The will of the universe is stronger with some wishes than others. When the wish is for love, if it is true enough, there is no force that can prevent that wish.





	1. Finding out about the Reef

_Before all the Ahamkara lost their bodies of flesh, they hungered for knowledge. Some took more unconventional approaches than others, but one had an idea, never recreated by another Ahamkara. With a name like "wish dragon", it seemed fitting to take advantage of the situation, in the form of a wish._

_The awoken was barely breathing, quite close to death. And yet, it held on, staying alive by repeating a few words. A wish to keep someone safe, someone it felt regret for leaving. It's heart was still beating. Perfect. That would be a good place to hide, if it worked. And if it did, there could be an opportunity for information that would last much longer than the lifetime of an average human. If it could be saved. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as this species of life would say._

\---------------------------------------

Nothing was more beautiful than the rising sun from the view of the tower. However, to a hunter trying to sleep in late, nothing was more annoying. Especially when their ghost want's them to get up. 

Lunae was doing his best to open the blinds in his guardian's room, remembering how annoying it is to do manual tasks when one has no hands, or legs, or anything else to help with pulling on some blinds. Yet, after nearly 10 minutes, his determination prevailed, and the light of the sun flooded the room, as well as the agitated protest of the guardian. 

Zolara retaliated with ducking her head underneath the covers, but she was already awake enough to move, meaning that sleep was not going to return until night. "I know you can't go back to sleep. Get up. If you don't, I'll call in Polaris," Lunae said. With the threat of the exo titan now looming over her head, Zolara quickly got up, though her eyes still refused to open, sleep having glued her eyelashes together. Zolara rolled out of bed, landing on the floor in her best attempt to get out of bed while still being half asleep. The cold floor soon convinced Zolara to stand up, as her hatred for the cold was greater than her desire for rest.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Lunae mocked slightly. With an unhappy groan, Zolara stretched and proceeded to the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

\-------------------------------------------

Hunter's like Zolara had a seemingly natural tendency to go out into the wilds and just spend a few weeks away from other guardians, whether it was on earth or another planet. While the company of close friends was always welcome, the need to face the dangers of a life beyond the walls was a desire of its own that needed to be filled. This time, however, Zolara had spent a total of 2 months in the wild, spending a few weeks on different planets. There was never enough adventure out there to be explored, even in the lifetime of a guardian. But with a prolonged time of adventures, there needed to be a balance of relaxation too. 

Zolara had been chatting with her good friend, Persephone, the only human friend she had, for a good few hours. Mostly Zolara going on about what she had seen, what she had found, what she brought back, and what she had killed. "You should have seen the **size** of the thing! It was the biggest Minotaur I'd ever seen! It was a tough son of a bitch too! Ah man, Perse, I don't even know were to begin with that one." Zolara felt happier describing the fight than actually being in it. Realizing that Persephone had barely said anything in the past few hours, Zolara stopped herself. "But before that, what about you? What's new here?"

"Oh, well, not much, I guess. Oh! I know! You know the place called the Reef out in the asteroid belt?" Persephone began to speak excitedly. It was unusual for a warlock like Persephone to be interested in something other than a new book, so Zolara's interest was immediately peeked. "Yeah, I've heard of the Reef. It's where all the original awoken were born and where some still reside. What about it?" Zolara could see where this could be going. Either the Reef was gone, the Reef was calling out, or the Reef was open. "Well, while you were away, a new guardian visited there on their way to save the world, and the Queen that rules the Reef helped them in exchange for the guardians helping the Reef should the need ever arise. And shenanigans ensued and now want to enact come revenge on the fallen they were controlling, but then the fallen retaliated and now we can go to the Reef. Only a small out cove though."

Persephone looked like she really wanted to say that for a while, taking only about two breaths to say it all. "And awoken are allowed too?" Zolara asked hesitantly. She was fully aware of the distaste the awoken of the Reef, especially the Queen, had for awoken who lived outside the Reef. "Yeah, of course, they wanted all guardians to help with their plan of revenge." Persephone seemed really excited to talk about this, even more than she normally would be when she would go on about new discoveries. "It's a whole new world to explore. I mean, I haven't been there yet, but I know it's going to be spectacular!" 

It certainly _sounded_ spectacular. Zolara had once flown close to the Reef, just enough to see the deep violet color that surrounded it. But she never had the compulsion to actually _go_ there. But now, that it was open to guardians, the Reef sounded so much more inviting and intriguing that before. Then, an idea came to her. What if, she could find out more about her people in the Reef? What if, she could reconnect with others like her? She suddenly wanted to know as much as she could about the Reef, it was now a driving force. 

Before Zolara could dive too deep into her new semi-obsession, Persephone's bright voice broke the silence. "Polaris! We're over here!" She was calling out to Polaris-7, their other best friend. Polaris turned his head and gave a small smile as he headed over to the girls. "Hello Persephone, Zolara, I'm glad to see you're back." Zolara was effectively brought back from her deep thoughts to greet her friend. "Oh, Polaris, hey. It's great to be back. Persephone was just telling me about the Reef. It sounds exciting!" 

\-----------------------------------------------

After Zolara had finished all the preparations she needed to, turning in engrams, turning in materials, and making sure all of her gear was fully upgraded, she met with Persephone and Polaris once again. They had made plans to go and see the Reef for the first time. Together. Persephone looked most excited, but Zolara felt it the most. The thought of what secrets the Reef might hold had been brewing in her mind for the entire day, reinvigorating the fire for adventure and the desire to know. 

"Looks like we're all ready to go!" Polaris's ghost, Solstice chirped happily. She was always happy when she got to get these three guardians together. They rarely had time to be on a fireteam together anymore, mostly because of Zolara's constant adventuring and Polaris's more serious approach to life as Polaris-7. Every reboot, it seemed like he gained a different personality, 7 being his most serious one yet, but he was always still the same exo. 

As the three guardians got ready to transmat out, Zolara felt a faint wave of calm wash over her. The unrelenting excitement that had been the center of her mind all day became less of a burden and more of a hope. It didn't feel as in something was pulling her to the Reef, but it was merely a light tug. She brushed it off as merely the excitement subsiding at last from her mind and entered her ship.


	2. Introductions of the Reef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure is about to begin.

From the outside, the Reef looked so elegant with its purples and blues, two colors Zolara found to be highly appealing. Even with what looked like ruins of ships and asteroids, she could not deny how awesome and beautiful the Reef was, flying slower than the others unintentionally, distracted by her new environment. "Come on, Zolara! You don't want to be left behind!" Persephone called over the coms and Zolara quickly snapped out of her trance and followed after her friends. Still, it didn't hurt to appreciate the scenery, which is what Zolara decided to do when they finally landed. Even though there were so many guardians in at the post, when Zolara looked into the clouds of purple and blue, she felt so calm and serine. She would have stayed there for as long as she could, in Polaris had not dragged her to where they were supposed to go.

"You're getting distracted again." Polaris rarely spoke. That's mostly what made him sound so authoritative. He saved his voice when he could as Polaris-7. Still, he was right. If there was real work to be done in the once forbidden Reef, it must have been really important. "Yeah, we should focus here. We'd want to make a good first impression." Persephone was trying to stand by her statement, but she really wanted to just gaze at the wonder of the Reef too.

"So, who do we need to talk to first?" Zolara was answered almost immediately by a woman's voice calling out to the three guardians. "Over here guardians!" Zolara, Polaris, and Persephone all turned their heads to see an awoken woman standing at the top of some steps, showing her face as opposed to the rest of the guards around the area who had their helmets on. As they approached, it became more and more obvious that this woman had been through some battles herself. Noted by the scars and eye patch over her left eye. 

"Welcome to the Reef guardians. I am Petra Venj. I will be aiding you on your mission to hunt down the fallen House of Wolves." Zolara didn't see or even hear any sign of displeasure at their presence in her voice. Just excitement and enthusiasm. At least not all Reef-born awoken were cold towards guardians. "Well, we will be happy to help, right guys?" Polaris nodded, but Persephone didn't seem to hear her. One major flaw of Persephone's was that she froze whenever she saw any woman who was greatly attractive. It wasn't that she was gay, it was that she was still quite young and had no interest in controlling her emotions like other warlocks would. 

"Hey, Persephone, you're staring again." This time, it was Zolara's turn to snap a friend out of a trance. With that, Persephone realized her mistake and stumbled to find her words again. "O-oh. M-my apologies. Yes, we are glad to assist the Reef. Yeah." It may have been her worst recovery yet, but Petra merely laughed to defuse any awkwardness in the area and Persephone relaxed. "I am happy to hear you're ready to help. Go and talk to Variks, he will help you with information on the Wolves."

That sounded like a fallen name, and it was. When Petra pointed to who they assumed was the Variks she was talking about, they saw a old-looking Fallen, as he was using a staff to hold himself up and appeared to be speaking to other guardians. "Don't worry about him, he's on our side." Her reassurance did little to defuse this situation. Zolara had taken out many fallen on her last trip to the wilds, so every instinct told her to be ready to fight. But when she looked at her friends, Polaris showed no sign of danger, this reboot version's 6th sense was to sense danger, but he gave no sign in the least of any danger. And Persephone only looked like she wanted to know everything about this seemingly friendly Fallen. So, in turn, Zolara decided to relax, and give this new ally a chance.

As the three approached Variks, he looked to them, and spoke, which was something new to the three. "Hello guardians, I am Variks, former house Judgement scribe to House of Wolves. I will help you hunt down traitorous wolves." Despite his raspy voice, Variks was easy to understand. It was quite surprising to witness a fallen speak a human language, though not perfect, but still impressive.

\-------------------------------------------

After the three guardians met with each vendor in the Reef, the cryptarch, the follower of Osiris, and heard the remarks of the guards that passed them, Zolara, Polaris, and Persephone returned to Petra to get their first mission. "So, shall we get started?" Petra was still filled with excitement, just by the looks of her. Zolara was still glad at least one person in the Reef could look at them and not seem disgusted at their presence. "Yes, let's. Where to first?"

"The most wanted traitor, Skolas, has been spotted as of late. He is the one who lead the main attack on the Reef when the House of Wolves fled. And your mission is to track him down and bring him back." Petra's mixture of serious and excitement made for an interesting tone, but it became fully serious at the end of her statement. This Skolas sounded like a tough enemy, if he was able to lead an attack that lead to a call to help from the guardians, of all people. But, a job was a job, and it sounded worth while. "Right, where to?" Persephone answered for all of them almost immediately. "Good to see you're excited. His last known location was the Ash Coves, Ishtar Sink on Venus. Anything else?" 

"Nope that will be all. Thank you." Zolara prepared to send her fireteam to their ships, knowing full well that Persephone would have stayed if she could have, but they had a mission. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this Skolas guy and be back before you know it." Zolara whispered to Persephone. With that, her mood seemed to brighten, and she was more ready than ever to go out and get the job done.

\-------------------------------------------

_It seems that this could be an excellent opportunity to bring these two back together. It has been enough centuries, I believe. I hate to admit it, but I find myself to be a bit of a romantic, even if fate does love to bring few together itself, I may as well help it along. They've been apart long enough, but knowing the other, the best way to bring them together, is to impress. I do wish mine had the power of the void, but a bit of an arc boost might be beneficial in this case. Do not fret, my little huntress, you shall return to your queen soon enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I'm doing this. Not sure if this will make it, but oh well. And there will be actual action in the next chapter. Thanks for reading to the end :)


	3. Another Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Mara's point of view in the beginning of this matter.

_It was all too bright and dark at the same time. Fear, sadness, and confusion flooded the atmosphere, leaving a feeling of depression in its wake. The deafening maniacal laughter and crushing stare of the two destructive beings continued to draw out cries of mental pain from the other humans. But they weren't human anymore. The normal colors of the human skin and eyes were replaced with colors of blue, purple, and gray skin and bright colored eyes that illuminated their faces._

_The girl in the front of the group looked back to see those who she ran from the darkness with change before her eyes. And so she looked down at her own body, just to see it change as well. Light blue skin could be seen slowly crawling its way across her hands, fully encompassing her until there was no trace of her old fair skin left. Her once normally blonde hair became brighter and brighter until it became borderline white and silver. She looked over to her brother, his skin now gray and his already dark hair becoming as black as space itself. And the she looked back up at her "mother"._

_The towering woman-like figure standing over her and watching the transformation of the humans was laughing. It wasn't even human itself. It looked like a female figure made to look as human as possible, but didn't quite make it. It was brightly colored, mostly whites and bright yellows made up the colors of it. Ribbons lightly covered where normal human clothes would, all the important bits not showing, though there was nothing there in the first place to be covered. It made it's hair look like the girl's, though it was longer in the front and twirled around in the center. It had pairs of metallic ends sticking out on its legs, arms, and where ears should be. And it's eyes had no pupils._

_The figure standing over the brother looked similar, but it gave the crushing stare. It, in opposition to the female counter part, was mostly darkly colored, as to say that it had mostly blacks and grays making up its color scheme. It also called itself father, like the female one did. It's hair looked like her brothers, but more shaved on the side which his hair did not fall. It merely had some dark colors covering its body and didn't look all that interesting on its own._

_After observing all of this, the scene changed, shifting to a calmer place, but no less painful. In front of her, the girl saw another girl, this one with purple skin and teal eyes. She looked hurt, emotionally. Then, the words finally came. "I said leave outsider, and never return." They came out of her own mouth, and looked like they stabbed the violet awoken in her heart. She could see the girl's heart break in two, the universal sign of heartbreak. She wanted to cry, to take the words back, but she was watching from a window, unable to influence the world around her._

_It all hurt, love hurt, everything about it. It became too dark and too bright again. And then she woke up._

\-------------------------------------

Mara woke up in a cold sweat. That nightmare again. About when she lost her mind and her love, in such a short time. She realized she had been hugging her pillow again, a normal occurrence whenever that particular nightmare showed up. Still, it never helped the fact that neither would ever come back, fully or ever. Mara looked over at her clock. There was still time for at least two hours of sleep before she would have to get up and be queen again. Because that's who she was. Mara Sov, queen of the awoken, and keeper of the unbreakable facade that was her lack of emotions. 

She looked to her door. After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, he didn't have it too." There was always a slight chance that both Mara and Uldren would get the same nightmare about becoming an awoken. Whenever that would happen, he would go straight to her room and break down, letting her comfort him. She was much better at dealing with that nightmare than him. But it was never good for either of them to have that nightmare, it put strains on their minds. 

Mara tried to return to sleep, but it evaded her. The face of her sure-to-be-dead lover kept returning to her mind, the look of betrayal and heartbreak being the last thing she saw on her face reminded her of that pain. Instead, Mara got up, and got an early start to her day, in hopes that it would all just go away.

\-------------------------------------

A day in the life of the queen was not all that spectacular. The most interesting, and least desired, events were when one or more guardians attempted to contact her to ask her on a date and play some sort of practical joke by doing it. Mara, in turn, found none of that to be funny at all. She had lost all feeling for those relationships at this point, and wanted nothing to do with being the focus of someone's joke. However, today, she got some interesting. 

Mara had received a message from Petra about a particular guardian. Normally, she would have brushed information about a guardian aside unless it was about the capture of any important wolves. But Petra only send information about important topics, so Mara got curious and read the message. It read: 

"My Queen,  
I know you have had some bouts about a certain person from your early time when you just became Queen, and, according to your description, I believe this person has shown up again in the Reef, as a guardian. I remember you describing her with violet skin, teal eyes, and a light blue mark on her forehead with a circle and lines in a symmetrical pattern. And I overheard that her name was Zolara, which I remember was the name of the person you spoke about fondly.  
This may just be a coincidence, but if you would like to make sure, I was able to attach a picture of her to this message.  
Your faithful guard,  
Petra Venj"

Mara felt optimistic for the first time in years, wanting the person in the picture to really be her Zolara. After all this time, she had died, but come back to the Reef, a second chance Mara did not want to pass up. Mara took a deep breath before opening the file. And there she was. The face from her dreams, the one who ended with sadness in her eyes, now fulled with intrigue and adventure. Mara wanted to see her. She wanted to see Zolara. But how, she wondered. 

Then, an idea came to her head. She sent Petra a message back with her idea as the definite reason behind it, but not blatantly said.

"Petra,  
Please make sure that this guardian and her fireteam, (should she have one), be sent on the missions specific to finding and capturing Skolas.  
Thank you,  
Queen Mara Sov"

It was not the most foolproof plan she had come up with, but it was going to be effective, should it work. The whole plan was to invite Zolara and any friends she may have to be congratulated by the Queen herself. After all, catching Skolas would be plenty of an excuse to bring a couple guardians a bit further into the Reef. All that she needed was for Uldren not to overreact to this plan. 

She must have been thinking out loud, unaware of her connection through starlight, because who should show up but Uldren himself. "No, I do not trust it all, I do not want guardians getting any closer into the Reef than they already are!" Uldren seemed to glide effortlessly up to the throne upon which his sister sat. Mara opened her eyes to see Uldren turning around to take a seat on the steps and look back at her. "I know you may not believe she is alive, but I will never forget her eyes. It is a possibility that this guardian is her." Uldren still looked unhappy.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Yes, it may be her, but her fireteam will still be other guardians. I do not like them, neither of us do." While he had a point, Mara wouldn't let that get in the way of her plan. "Yes, brother, I am fully aware of that, but it would be rude to not invite those who helped Zolara on her task to hunt down the wolves." Uldren would have argued, but he knew this was a battle he could not win. He let out a sigh and prepared to leave. "And what if this guardian is not who you want her to be?" That could be taken as a case of mistaken identity, but also as a way to bring up possible changes in personality from the old Zolara. "We will just have to wait and see then." Mara said as Uldren once again strode out of the throne room.

Mara contemplated this possibility, but decided to listen to her own word and be patient instead.

\---------------------------------------

_"But what if it is her, what then?"_  
"Who cares? She's still the cold blooded queen to guardians and non-reef awoken as she's ever been."  
"But what if it is her love? What power will you have then, Starlight?"  
"Why, the power over her mind of course. Still, I think we should let our kids have a little fun, eh Darkness?"  
"..."  
"Don't be like that darling."  
"Fine, only until we visit again should we act."  
"Perfect! Then, if we decide so, we will act accordingly." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Zolara and friends in the next chapter. Thanks for reading to the end. :)


	4. Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look in on how Zolara and friends are doing.

"Very rare, and very powerful," Variks' voice came through the coms, explaining the new exciting cannon Zolara held in her arms. She, Polaris, and Persephone just took down a fallen captain with a kind of weapon they were unfamiliar with. It was revealed to them by Variks that this was a scorch cannon. And Zolara was ready to release some destructive power upon the house of wolves. After Skolas had escaped from their grasp, she was not very happy about how close they came to victory, just to have it all slip away in a now long gone Ketch. That "Kell of Kells" BS sort of gloating then the total retreat of the target really got on her nerves. Oh well, nothing was ever easy in the life of a guardian.

There was certainly enough fallen around to allow Zolara to let off some steam. Polaris and Persephone decided not to stay in the room. It took a lot to get Zolara to lose her temper unless it was mocking. That, on top of the fact that Skolas ran from the fight, would definitely be enough to send Zolara into a dangerous tantrum. Because, when that usually happened, she would feel like her opponent believed her to be weak. And if there was one thing she hated, it was to be thought of as weak.

Persephone, having gotten tired of the sounds of Zolara's battle cry of destruction, and the fallen's cries of death, decided to make some conversation with Polaris. It's usually what they did when they had to wait out something like this. "It's been a long time since she's done this, huh? I mean, the last time this happened, we were in the crucible. And Traveler knows how much we _love_ to do that." Persephone added a sarcastic ending to the crucible comment. They didn't like the crucible because, one, it got Zolara irritated the easiest, and two, all three of them preferred to fight enemies rather than other guardians. Polaris nodded in agreement before adding a comment of his own. "Yes, I remember that match. Some titan kept going after her specifically. It got to the point where both our team _and_ his team wanted to intervene, but by the time we got there, she'd already planted her knife straight through his helmet." Persephone wrenched slightly at the comment. "Yeah, don't remind me. It was pretty gross. But it was a little out of the blue, her being as nice and calm as she normally is. But he did get what was coming to him, with all the taunts and relentless targeting. I get it was a joke, as that happens to some guardians when they aren't on their best game, but it was really uncalled for."

When they looked back up, Zolara seemed to have a new scorch cannon in her hands, and began destroying a second wave of fallen. Zolara was less rage driven, and more "done with the situation" driven, like she just didn't want to have to be there anymore. At this point, Persephone and Polaris decided to jump back in and help Zolara complete her task. Seeing her friends jump into the fray, Zolara decided to allow herself to put less effort into killing last wave of fallen, feeling slightly worn out from her previous exertion.

\------------------------------------

After the last of the wolves were taken down, the three guardians waited for a transmission from Petra. That was when she mentioned something peculiar. "That's strange, for a moment thought I detected Vex energy around the site." This caught them off guard, especially Persephone, who had a previous encounter with the Vex, and they freaked her out. Quickly, Petra changed the subject. "As for you, great work. Rejoin me at the Reef. Now that the House of Winter bows to Skolas, and the Wolves are just getting started, we're going to have a lot of work to do." 

Zolara was getting ready to transmat her fire team out when she noted the destruction she had caused before Polaris and Persephone jumped in. It worried her a little. She had never thought of herself as a violent or temperamental person, but what she had done wait otherwise. Now that Zolara knew that the Fallen were not all just ruthless bugs, darkness-bent on killing the guardians and taking back the Traveler, she started to feel a little for them. It was moments like that when she believed she was too compassionate for her own good. The fallen were mostly enemies, save for Variks, and the world they lived in was one for survival. And if she didn't kill her enemies first, they'd kill her, and the only way she'd survive in a crisis, was to fear death, even though she was an immortal guardian.

After the fire team returned to their ships, Polaris sent Zolara a message. "You're beating yourself up again." Zolara rolled her eyes and sent a message back. "No, I'm fine." An almost instant reply returned. "You think you're too compassionate again. Stop worrying yourself about that, and then I'll believe you're fine." Polaris had a way of knowing exactly what his friends were feeling. It was almost uncanny. "Fine. I'll work on it." Polaris took a moment to reply, but he finally said "Fine" and nothing after that. Either way, if he wanted to continue the conversation, he would in the Reef. After all, they were almost there anyway. 

When they landed, there seemed to be even more guardians at the Reef. And Persephone seemed to almost immediately notice that a good number of them were indiscreetly gawking at Petra. They weren't even getting missions, they were just staring, flirting, and just generally trying to get her attention. And Petra was laughing, not in a flirtatious way, but in more of a much friendlier way. She actually seemed to enjoy the attention from the guardians, since they were kind of the reason her life was not so boring anymore. But Persephone could not help but feel a light jealousy. So, in turn, she marched right up through the crowd of the mostly gawking men to greet Petra. And Petra greeted her with a smile. Persephone smiled back, then forgetting about the other guardians behind her. "Welcome back Persephone. I saw your mission from your ghosts, well done." Persephone wanted to scream internally, but held back her excitement to appear much more calm and collected than she actually felt. "Thank you Petra, and now we are ready for a new mission."

Zolara and Polaris finally joined her, finally getting over the slightly uncomfortable state of the situation. "That is, if you have another mission for us." Zolara added, knowing that there was a possibility that there was nothing new for them to do. Petra thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nothing important today. Why don't you get some rest?" Petra was as kind-hearted to the guardians as ever, that was reassuring. 

The three guardians agreed and went on their way. But not before Persephone turned to the most annoying guardians, who were pestering Petra, and commented, "Don't you all have anything better to do? Like your job?" They would have laughed and ignored her comment, had Polaris not given them an intimidating stare. That was enough to scare about half of them off, making it a much more breathable area already. Others didn't back down entirely, but were not as bold as they were before. Persephone allowed them to stay, as Petra still seemed to enjoy some attention, and at least it was no longer crowded. 

With one last turn and smile to Petra, Zolara's fireteam split. Polaris would go back to the tower to rest, while Persephone and Zolara decided to stay. Persephone stayed to learn more about every person who would talk to her in the Reef. Zolara, however, just had her engrams decrypted by Master Ives and took a seat near the edge to gaze at the rest of the Reef, where she could not go.

It was all so beautiful. The purples, the blues, the ruined yet majestic look of it all, it was so enticing. But she was forbidden from exploring. After all, she was a guardian, and at some point, either she or her ancestors left the Reef, making her nothing but an outsider to them. That was emphasized by the occasional passing guard would call her an outsider, or hearing a guard in the distance say something about having the guardians would be a potential bad idea. But Zolara didn't care. She was in the Reef, and the Reef was beautiful, so not much mattered. However, Zolara began to notice some ships seemed to linger a little longer than others. She had noticed ships slightly peaking through the clouds and moving on, but others didn't always stay constant. It was like they were watching the guardians, probably out of justifiable suspicion. 

That was when Zolara looked up and noticed something peculiar. Maybe she had not noticed it before, but there appeared to be something in the shape of a bird above her. There was no way she could have seen it if it had not been for a light shine on it's black body. And the bird seemed to see her too, because after a moment, the bird flew off. It was small and black and flew faster than a normal bird. It was very odd and Zolara made it a note to remember it. Then, a hand on her shoulder startled her a little. It was Persephone.

"I'm gonna head out. Are you coming, or are you going to sleep in your ship again?" Persephone laughed a little. "Yes, I am. My ship is comfy, and I like it." It was a well know fact among the friend group that Zolara would sleep anywhere but where she would best be, unless she decided she need sleep that badly. Persephone rolled her eyes and gave Zolara a goodbye before heading out back to the tower. 

Zolara decided to watch the Reef for a while longer before going back to her ship. After all, in the Reef, she didn't feel like she needed sleep as much as anywhere else in the solar system. After all, one thing that connected every awoken, undeniably throughout every single one, was that awoken did not really sleep. Their bodies could rest and become energized just like a human's or exo's, but the mind of an awoken would never rest. 

\---------------------------------------

_Soon, you shall remember. Soon, you shall know who you really are, who you really love, and what will make you really happy. Until then, my powers will aid you. I saved you once, and you save me every day. Letting you find happiness again, that's probably the least I can do for allowing my stay here. You will never know about me, you will never see me, but I will be the guardian of a guardian. Even if your kind as slain the rest of mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all of the house of wolves DLC will be in here, but important parts will. Also, Zolara hates being looked down upon, as if she's weak with no respect at all. This might be important later in the story but idk. Thanks for reading to the end!


	5. Captivated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guardian get to meet with the royalty of the reef, and Zolara experiences yet another strange event.

At last, they’d face off against Skolas, the one most responsible for the mutiny against the Queen and the Reef. Zolara, Polaris, and Persephone had been sent to Venus after killing fallen and hive on previous missions, and finally making it to where Skolas has ended up. It was only when they realized that these fallen had vex technology, that they were done with each curveball these wolves had thrown. At least, Zolara was. Her friends were not as annoyed at each odd twist, but after dealing with the amount of fallen that they had, they felt as if they were ready to take a break from fighting the one species for a while. 

With the fallen using the vex tech to bring more of the wolves into the fight and to make platforms appear and disappear, Zolara remembered why she never really liked the vex, and now had a reason to dislike the fallen even more. But, something else took up her mind even more, the feeling of being watched by something or someone. Not an by an enemy, but not by anything or anyone who she could determine to be a friend. She pushed the thought back into the back of her mind as she continued to fight. 

————————

Mara watched the fight through live feed from one of Uldren’s crows. She watched as the guardians would sometimes fall of the edge, or get hurt to a degree where they had to retreat, but also succeed in killing a wave of enemies or making it across a long path of constantly changing platforms without a single mistake. But she kept a very close eye on the hunter. 

She was sure it was her. The way she moved, the way she fought, the gracefulness one moment then clumsiness the next. It was all too reminiscent of the one she lost to be a coincidence. The one she lost was back. As a guardian. 

Uldren had let his sister go on with this little game for long enough. Sure, she was happy for once, and actually hopeful instead of cynical, but it was getting to her, in his opinion. “How long do you expect to keep this up? It’s too unlikely to actually be her. She’s dead.” Mara shot him a look which made him shut his mouth before he could continue. “It has to be her. There’s no one else like her. Guardians were dead once, then brought back to life by the light. I decided to remember her, while you only wanted to forget who she was when she left.”

Uldren thought of how he could both recover himself and end this nonsense. Then he got an idea. “Okay, look. How about, if they survive, we invite them to the palace for a night. Have dinner with them, get to know them, see if it really is her, why don’t we?” He thought of how ridiculous it sounded, but Mara didn’t think so. “That sounds like a wonderful idea! This was I will prove to you that she is who I know she is!” Mara spoke so happily again, but Uldren was dumbfounded. He’d just have to hope that this didn’t happen so he wouldn’t have to deal. 

————————

Skolas had been taking on the three guardians for a time now, almost down to the lowest health he could go. But it was no easier for the fire team. Polaris was too preoccupied with the other fallen, Persephone ran out of ammo, so Zolara had to be the one to finish off Skolas. She had no power ammo left, very little energy ammo, and only a little kinetic ammo left as well. She had thrown a dreg into the line of fire for Polaris when she saw one of Skolas’ arms come down and knocked her against a wall. She had too little health to take another hit, and not enough light to use her super. 

She looked up to see Skolas lifting his foot for a slam attack, hear Polaris try to call out to her, and feel her ghost try to heal her, but it was not enough. Until she heard another voice, that was not from the outside, but seemed to call to her from inside her own mind. “Don’t die. Don’t give up. Please. I need you to be okay. Please.” She had never heard the voice before, but it made her snap out of her slow motion trance in time to dodge. She’d have to find the origin of the voice later, now came Skolas. 

Zolara felt her light finally be ready for her super. “Hope you’re ready for a blade dancer.” She said before casting her light into an arc filled knife and leaping through the air to strike Skolas. He tried to get a hit in on Zolara, but she felt unstoppable, possibly because of the voice, and failed every time.

With her last strike, Skolas fell to the ground, and a seal was cast around him. Petra congratulated the guardians and told them to wait for a transmission. Zolara ran over to her friends. “That was so cool! How’d you do that? I haven’t seen you so focused since... even I don’t think.” Persephone was the first one to talk. “You’ll, never believe it but I heard a voice-“ Zolara was interrupted again, by the voice, but it came from the outside this time. 

“This is Mara Sov, queen of the Awoken. When the first guardian came here in search of the black garden, I thought you all just motes of light, too far from their traveler. But I now see I was wrong. Return to the Reef, for a fitting reward.” The voice ended. Persephone and Polaris seemed fine, but when they looked at Zolara, she had taken her helmet off and seemed to be in a trance. They looked at each other the back to her. “You alright, girl?” Persephone asked, and Zolara snapped out of it. “Yeah, let’s go back.” She transmatted out, followed by the others. 

——————

When they arrived in the Reef, Petra immediately called them over. The guards shooed her admirers away. “Congratulations you three. Not only have you helped in the capture of Skolas, but you’ve been invited to the palace, by the queen! That’s extremely rare, even for us.” Zolara’s eyes lit up. “Really? Do we get to meet her?” Petra nodded as a ship approached. “Oh, here’s your ride. Remember, be respectful, she’s the queen, and she is known for her wrath, but I’m sure you already know that.” Persephone laughs at the joke, before Zolara pulls her away. “Come on, you spacey lesbian. You can ask her on a date later.” Even though she said it quietly, it still made Persephone become flustered within seconds. 

The door closes and Petra waves them goodbye. The ship was really nice, obviously made for special people due to the comfy feel of the seats and beautiful interior. Zolara was captivated by everything, and it ended all to soon, as they arrived at they assumed was the palace. 

It was a huge building, not really in height, but it was built into asteroids that had been fused together to made a huge asteroid. “This way.” One of the guards said strictly and the guardians followed. Zolara turned to Polaris and Persephone. “What do you think the queen looks like?” 

Persephone replied first. “She sounded wise and strict, she might be kinda old.” Polaris spoke next. “Like an Awoken.” 

“Of course like an Awoken, but I feel like I can’t imagine without my brain stopping for one reason or another. Like, she’s too much to think of and too unimaginably beautiful to picture.” Zolara walks backwards to face her friends. Persephone pokes fun at her. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna start acting all head over heels for a woman you’ve never met. I know it can happen fast for you, but the sound of someone’s voice isn’t a reason for you to fall for someone that fast.” 

Before she can retort, she bumps against the guard. “Oh sorry-“ The unseen but terrifying stare of the awoken guard cuts Zolara off. It looks like the guard is about to say something scary to her, but something stops her and turns back around. “This way.” Zolara is still scared. 

——————

After a minute, they arrive at the throne room, and a woman sits in the throne. Zolara, who is still recovering from what felt like a stare of death, doesn’t notice until her cape is yanked at by Persephone. She realizes she was still walking. “Oh we’re here...” She looks up at the queen, speechless. She looks like a goddess, sitting upon the seat of a Kell, which was repurposed into a throne. A voice seems to come from behind her, but she doesn’t look to see who it is until the originator of the voice bumps into her. She looks at the one who bumped into her and he was not as attractive at all compared to the woman on the throne. His expression, however turns from rude and off putting, to shock and confusion. He starts walking again, still looking confused, all the way up to the side of the queen. 

“Welcome, guardians. I am queen Mara Sov, and I welcome you to my home.” Zolara wants to melt at the sound of the voice, but stays calm. “I have invited you here as a reward for what you have done. I take it you know how difficult it is to get into the palace, much less the difficulty of getting an audience with the Queen.” 

Polaris is now ready to speak. “Not really. We don’t talk to a lot of other guardians, so we don’t tend to get a lot of info from outside sources.” Uldren seems personally offended by this statement and makes it known. “Just so you know, getting an audience with the Queen is something impossible for guardians like you. So show some respect, for once.” Polaris is unphased by the rudeness, Persephone doesn’t care, and Zolara is still in her trance. Uldren is about to give her a piece of his mind, but the Mara raises her hand to stop him. 

 

“Brother, show them to their rooms. Dinner is in one hour.” She then turns her attention to the guardian. “If you wish to explore the palace, I can have a guard escort you around. That will be all.” Uldren sneers at the guardians before giving in and going down to the guardians. “This way.” He leads them out of the throne room. 

———————

After a few minutes of leading, Uldren stops at a door. Before opening it, he looks across the hall and has the same look of surprise from before, which turns to distaste. “Hunter, you are in here.” He opens the door and gestures to Zolara. She watches his face become a mixture of confusion and distaste as she heads in. He closes the door and heads on to the next one. He gets to the next door, and opens in, gesturing to Polaris. When he gets close, Uldren seems to get less intimidating and more intimidated by the sheer size of Polaris, who is tall, even next to Uldren. He notices that Polaris also looks like an off putting person, like him, but tries not to think about it. Finally he gets to the final room and gestures Persephone inside, not acknowledging her. 

—————

Zolara looks at the room. It’s huge, the bed is beautiful, and the view is spectacular. She leaps on the bed, which is so comfortable and bouncy. She feels like she could really fall asleep on it. But she gets herself up before that happens. There is a knock on her door. She opens it to see a guard holding some clothes in her arms. “Here, for tonight. Fancy attire is required for a royal dinner.” She hands Zolara the clothes. “And a set of night clothes. Unless you have brought your own, these are for you.” She bows and leaves. Zolara watches her leave then looks to Polaris’ room, as the guard seem unsure of the clothes would fit. She leaves, presumably to get a larger set. Polaris looks to Zolara, who wants to laugh. A third guard passes, most likely the one who gave Persephone her clothes. Zolara watches her go before going back into her room. 

She unfolds the clothes to find that the outfit is a dress, but it’s exactly her size. She tries it on to find that it fits to her perfectly. And it feels like it’s been worn before, but like it’s been worn by her, or someone with her exact body structure, and that was unlikely, because every Awoken woman she had seen before did not have her body structure at all, but it felt so comfy. 

The dress went down to her ankles. But it was flowing, and allowed for considerable mobility. There were ribbons of fabric that went from a neck piece, around her shoulders and connected at her back, which made it easier to move her arms. The dress was fit to make Zolara look attractive, but not too revealing. She felt so confident in the dress, which had been made with the base color of a deep and vibrant purple, and decorated with gold. She shoes were not heels that made to too much taller, but made her feet feel comfortable in them. It seemed like the outfit was made just for her, and she liked it that way. 

Now, all she had to do was wait for dinner, and maybe get to know why, “Oh yeah, right. That voice.” Zolara remembered the voice she heard while she was fighting Skolas, it sounded like the Queen’s voice. She wanted to know why. And she hopped to find out. 

——————

_I was expecting I’d have to do all the work, but it seems the Queen has done that for me. Now, to just make sure that brother does not get in the way. I remember him, he has not changed at all. But he’ll need to see that he cannot deny this forever. No matter what, he cannot protect her from love. Love is the most terrible, excruciating, and destructive pain a person can feel. But it is worth it, because it is an emotion that is like no other, and it’s not one to be put off, especially when it is fated to happen by the universe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m really bad at writing fight scenes, but I tried. I’m ready to move onto the actual romance of the story, so let’s get it started. Sorry for the late chapter too. School getting out, finding a job, playing the Warmind DLC, and spending more time with my new puppy have been kinda time consuming. But I’ll be back on schedule soon enough. Thanks for reading to the end. :)


	6. It's Like Seeing a Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first real chance everyone gets to sit down and talk. It might go well, or it might not.

The hour passed by painfully slow. Mara could not contain herself and her excitement. She could finally have the chance to reconnect and apologize for pushing Zolara away all those years ago. Nothing would stop her, not even Uldren and his doubt. As she watched the clock, her mind began to wander. She thought of ways to progress the conversation to where she wanted it. By the time she realized it was time to go, Mara had several plans of what she could do and would do. She got up and decided to head out first, just to make sure that everything was prepared.

It was there she realized she was not early enough, because the guards were informing her guests that is was in fact time to leave. She caught a glimpse of Zolara and stopped in place. After a moment, Zolara locked eyes with Mara, before quickly turning away. 'Still as shy as ever' Mara thought as she heard Uldren behind her. "Do I have to do this?" He sounded just as annoyed as ever. "Because this is the closest I've ever been to knowing what happened to _her_. And I'm not going to let her go this time."

Uldren didn't argue this time. He knew full well how determined she was to know, and she was not one to give up. So decided to just play along, at least until he could find a way to get out of this.

They headed to the dinning room. Petra was already there, early as always. As they took their seats, everyone was in an awkward silence, Zolara and Persephone felt out of place, since they were not used to fancy events. Polaris did not know how he was supposed to act, he couldn't just act normal, which would come off as very off putting. Mara knew how she'd continue the conversation, just not start it. Uldren didn't want to be there, and was afraid he'd look intimidated by the guardians if he didn't sass them. And Petra wasn't used to attending things like this, so she felt just as out of place as Zolara and Persephone.

Eventually, Persephone took the first step and spoke up first. "This is a really nice place. There's nothing like this back in the city." Petra tied to follow suit and added on to Persephone's last comment. "Really? What is the city like?" Persephone began to explain how the city is built around the traveler. It houses the last of the human population and it's surrounded by a large, sturdy wall. The tower is where guardians usually socialize and sometimes live. She keeps herself from going into a tangent about everything. Petra listens to every word. When Persephone finishes, Mara takes the opportunity to move the conversation in the direction she wants. 

"So, what is it that you guardians actually do? I assumed you all just fight threats to the city, but it seems that there is more to you than that." Zolara takes up the topic first. "Well, that is true. There are three different classes that guardians fall into. There are Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters." She points to her friends as she names their respective classes. "We're all quite different. For example, Titans are stronger and tougher. They seem to have an instinct to protect everything they love, which I can't really complain about. Warlocks are smarter and are much better at making a good plan for battle. They're like nerds who know how to fight to the death. And finally Hunters. We're more spontaneous and instinct driven than the others. We don't really care about the rules, but we've gotta follow them. But this isn't a set mold for every guardians. We're all different in out own ways." 

Mara gets lost in how passionate Zolara describes the guardians. But she keeps her cool and continues when Zolara is done. "What makes you all different?" This time, Persephone answers. "Well, for one, I've been told that I've got the energy of a Hunter. Other Warlocks sometimes pride themselves on how calm and cool they can be. Not me though. I like being a little spontaneous." 

Zolara taps Polaris on the shoulder, trying to get him to add. With a sigh, he complies. "My personality changes from time to time. I don't tend to follow every order, like other Titans. But I honestly don't care." He doesn't go into anymore detail, adding an uncomfortable air to the room again. Zolara tries to move the conversation along.

"I'm like a lot of other Hunters. Long trips to the wilds, running into battle without a plan, the usual. But I get along with Warlocks and Titans, not all Hunters do. I can't really think of anything else." She thought she had more, but when she says this out loud, she realizes she doesn't have that many differences. Once again, Mara tries to move the conversation her way. "Do guardians remember their lives before?" The three guardians go silent. They look to each other, then Zolara answers. "No, we don't remember anything about ourselves before we were reborn." They seem kind of sad about it. Petra tries to stop them from being sad, or at least distract them. "Well, would you want to?"

Polaris answers this time, with a non-hostile tone. "I don't really want to. Exos were made for a reason, and I don't want to know for what." He seems quite troubled about it, refusing to expand anymore. Persephone carries on. "I'm really indifferent. The warlock vanguard, Ikora, says I should track down my past if I can so I can come to terms with it. Honestly, I kinda don't wanna know how I died, because it's probably stupid. Like, what if I died to the most elaborate accident ever seen? It would be the most hilarious but probably morbid thing to see." She laughs at her last statement, and Petra finds herself laughing too. Zolara adds her statement last. "Honestly, I do want to know what happened to me. I was one of the first guardians ever reborn. So, I might have been from the Reef, I don't know. I just want to know about who I was before."

At this, Mara's eyes light up, hope filling them once again. Uldren, however, takes notice, and fearing being wrong, he starts thinking of the first way he can end this. While he stays in his thoughts, Mara continues the conversation. "Well, it is certainly possible that you are from here. There are cities in the Reef that we use to house documents and information about the Awoken here. If you'd be interested, we could go out to there and find out just exactly who you were." Now, Zolara's eyes have brightened, now so close to finding her past, and getting to go with this woman she felt to drawn to, not just physically, but something about her just drew her in. But before she could say yes, Uldren jumped in.

"Mara, you cannot be serious. This has gone on long enough. This façade has to end." Mara glares at him, telling him to back down, but the guardians have already heard him. Persephone speaks up. "What façade?" A smile grows across Uldren's face. "She thinks you're someone she lost, hunter. But this person is much more than likely long dead." Mara begins to tell him to back off in his mind, but he holds his ground. "You'd be nothing more than another disappointment, a substitute." He then turns to Mara. "Why couldn't you have just stayed with Petra? You two worked so well together. Always together, being affectionate. Hell, I know for a fact that, at some point, you two f-" Mara slams a knife, blade down, into the table. "Why are you so against me finding her?! It's been years, you should be able to deal with _this_ now! I know she's alive and you cannot make me move on from what is not lost!" When she finishes yelling, she looks to the guardians in embarrassment, fearing she may have looked stupid and out of character to them. Without another word, Mara gets up and leaves, to go and hide in her room. When Petra shoots Uldren a hostile look, he feel ashamed of what he had done, and leave to hide in his own room. When they leave, Petra just sighs in frustration. The guardians are very taken aback by the outburst.

Petra reveals what Zolara wanted to know before. "It was the Queen who sent you that message to fight, when you were in the battle with Skolas. She really believes that you are her long lost love. I don't want to have a stance on whether or not you may or may not be the person she lost, but I think it is safest that you three leave as soon as you can. This place can feel hostile when the Queen and Prince are at odds." She stands to leave, but adds in something else. "But you are certainly welcome back to the outpost any time. And the fancy attire is a gift." As she says this, she winks at Persephone, as a way to say she knows that she's been staring at her. Or maybe it's just a blink, it's hard to tell with Petra's lack of a second eye. 

The three get up and head back to their rooms to get their things. As Zolara finishes up, she feels a presence in her general vicinity. It's not hostile, or creepy, but somehow familiar. When she looks around to find what's with her, she finds nothing, just still feel the eyes watching her. It's more like watching over her, than just watching her. She doesn't seem to mind, because the presence feels warm and kind to her. Soon enough, she is ready to go, and looks to the room across from her. It's the Queen's room. She wants to knock on the door and see if she's okay, but she holds back. She fears it would be rude and invasive to do that, when she feels like just a similar thing to what the Queen lost. But still, something compels her to go and knock. So, she gives in and knocks twice. "Hello? Are you okay?" There's no answer. After a minute, a note slips under the door. It's an envelope. It is addressed to her and her friends, and has the instructions "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU GET BACK TO THE TOWER" She immediately puts the note away and backs off from the door when she hears footsteps. And it's the worst person to see her there.

Uldren does not look pleased by Zolara's presence, and she did not seem pleased with his. "What are you doing here?" He sounds even more hostile than before. Zolara keeps her ground. "I'm checking to see if the Queen is alright." She wants to sass him about being the reason his sister fled, but holds back. Uldren fires back. "That's not your job. And what was that in your hand?" He refers to the letter.

"That's none of your business." 

"I don't care, now give it here!"

She clutches the note. "No!" 

Before he can forcefully snatch the note away, something seems to pull him back. He withdraws. "Fine." He leaves. Zolara breathes a sigh on relief as Polaris and Persephone. Polaris seems to catch Uldren's eye again, but this time, Polaris sees it. He quickly turns away and hurries off, seemingly more frustrated than before. Polaris and Persephone head off to leave. Zolara want's to ask the Queen if she's alright one more time, but decides not to and leaves. 

\----------------------------

At the Tower, Zolara sits in a room with her close friend, Odin-9. She looks at the letter, still unopened, after she's been staring at it for the past few hours. Finally, Odin cannot take it anymore. "Well, are you going to open it? Or are you just going to will it open." Zolara takes one last look, before using her knife, carefully, as a letter opener. She takes out the letter to see an invitation in such gorgeous handwriting. The note reads, "You and a small group of your friends are welcome to join us at a Masquerade with in the Remembering city. Masks will be given at the party before entering, and formal wear is required." The note addresses the date and time of the party, as well as where the city is. Zolara's hands shake with excitement. Odin remarks without looking up from his work. "See, that wasn't so hard."

\----------------------------

_This makes my job so much easier. With any luck, Mara will be able to find and lead Zolara to where her personal records are, and Zolara will remember. Uldren may be an issue, but he seems to have eyes for Polaris. That boy has always been interested in not being in charge for once. Maybe his ego will let that happen. I am the embodiment of love, and this will let my guardian feel love once again. Without the rejection of every other little guardian that tried to take advantage of her sweet and unprotected heart. So, let's just see what happens, shall we, o' reader mine?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna try and keep the schedule of updating once a month from now on. And yeah, I'm gonna draw this out more. And to everyone who also ships Mara and Petra, I do think it's cute, so this little acknowledgement is for you. Thanks to everyone who's stayed with me this entire time. Thanks for reading to the end. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea if this is going to turn out well, but I'm going to bring in the reef in the next chapter. Thank you for reading to the end, either way :)


End file.
